Wall ornamentation



April 28, 1931.

J. E. HAMM WALL ORNAMENTATION Filed May 21, 1930 IN V EN TOR. Jorwv f, flaw/1 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 28, 1931 PATENT OFFICE JOHN E. EAMM, OB BROOKLYN, NEW YQRE WALL ORNAMENTATIOIN Application filed May 21, 1980. Serial No. 454,479.

My present invention relates to the ornamentation of wall surfaces and particularly to the ornamentation of building interior walls having their exposed surface portions formed by a layer of plastic stone adapted to be treated after its application to the wall to resemble an expensive natural building rock.

To enhance the artistic effect obtained and to create an appearance of a wall composed of a m multiplicity of cut blocks of the natural rock,

such wall surfaces have been frequently ornamented heretofore by scoring a design, generally a rectangular blocking design, in the material after it has set or hardened.

The general object of my present invention is the provision of a building wall of this general character with a more ornate appearance and a novel method of forming the same. A. further and more specific object of my invention is the provision of an interior Wall surface in which the applied ornamentation is formed by narrow strips of relatively thin glass or analogous materials embedded therein and arranged in a predetermined geometrical design.

lhe various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. 3@ For a better understanding of the invention,

however, and the advantages possessed by it reference should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section on the line l-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a wall incorporatin" my invention; and

ig. 3 is an inverted perspective view of one of the glass inserts.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, a wall A of the type used in frame dwellings, is shown as comprising a supporting base structure formed by studing A. connected and covered at the inner side by laths A and over which alpyer of plaster A is ap lied. When the plaster has set to a desir extent, it is coated with a plastic wall finish material preferabl a plastic stone composition B, such as extone or Roman plaster, of a predetermined thickness. The outer side of the building wall A maybe formed by siding A and clapboards or shingles A for example.

The rate of setting or hardening of such compositions being known or determinable it has been heretofore the practice either to permit the material to set after being smoothed, or, as is now well known, to treat the exposed surface of the wall by a stippling operation to simulate a building stone of porous texture and to thereafter impregnate the surface in varying degrees of concentration with c01- oring material, such as brown sand, to simulate the natural coloring of the rock. The material is then permitted to harden after the treated surface has been lightly planed. The appearance of the exposed wall surface is then substantially similar to that of a continuous smooth. wall of such rock. Expensive building materials of various appearanccs, such as travertine rock, for example,

have been more or less sucessfully reproduced in substantially this manner.

in furtherance of the artificial reproduction and in particular, to create an impression on observers of a wall consisting of cut blocks of such material arranged in a predetermined manner, it has been a well known practice to incorporate a rectangular blocking design in the hardened exposed wall surface by scoring the wall surface with a suitable tool. In such methods of wall ornamentation, it requires considerable skill, time and patience to produce a clear clean cut design in the desired relief.

In accordance with my improved method, the wall base structure is plastered in the usual manner and after the latter has set, a predetermined portion of the plastered surface is coated with a plastic stone composition B as heretofore done. A. suitable base coat of oil paint should be applied before the application of the plastic stone The portion of the wall surface to which the composition is applied at one time depends primarily on the rate of setting of the material since all of the subsequent surface treating operations lull are performed before the material finally sets. In wall finish materials such as those specified, the full plasticity is maintained from 30 minutes to 1 hour before the final set begins. When the finished wall surface is intended to represent blocks of travertine rock, for example, the mechanism rapidly stipples the outer surface with a brush to reproduce the porous texture of such stone. The surface of the material is then colored by an impregnating operation in which greenspar, a greenish brown sand,-is blown into the plastic exposed surface to form colored portions' of patches 0 of varying concentration. The treated surface is then smoothed to a slight extent bytrowelling. Variations from the natural appearance of the rock may be had by the use of precolored plastic material.

While the wall finishing material remains plastic but of suitable consistency, the main outline of the desired design is laid out over the surface by stretching guide lines across the plastic surface in a position relative thereto in which they cannot obstruct the subsequent operations of the mechanic. The design is then formed by rapidly embedding narrow strips of glass D, which have been previously prepared as described hereinafter and cut to the desired lengths, in the material with a predetermined portion of the strips projecting beyond the inner exposed sur ace of the material. In the design illustrated in Fig. 2, guide lines would be arranged for the longer vertical and horizontal strips D and D respectively, and those strips then positioned. No guide lines are necessary generally for the shorter diagonal strips D which can be properly positioned relative to the longer strips by a skilled mechanic. In the construction illustrated, for example, the strips of glass used were A; of an inch in depth by of an inch in width and were embedded of an inch in the material. The ends of the various strips may be suitably cut to form any desired type of joint with the abutting ends of the adjacent strips.

The glass strips which are preferably used in forming the design, are prepared by cuttin sheet glass of the desired thickness into strips. The strips are then preferably passed through a grinding operation in which the under surface D of the glass is roughened, as indicated in Fig. 3, to provide an intimate surface contact between the plastic material and strips. When the strips used are of rectangular transverse cross section, the upper corner portions are preferably ground and polished to form a pair of inclined surfaces D to thereby lessen the danger of injuries from handling the strips and increase the amount of light reflecting glass surface ex osed.

ith the various glass strips assembled as shown, the hardening or settingof the mateto thereby greatly enhance the ornamentation of the wall and define the configuration of the design. I

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the wall structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of ornamenting a wall surface which comprises coating saidsurface with a plastic wall finishing composition having a relatively rapid rate of setting and, while said composition is in a plastic condition, successively treating the exposed surface of the .material to simulate the appearance of a different wall construction material and forming a geometrical design in said exposed surface by embedding narrow strips of glass therein in intimate contact with said material and with a substantial portion of the aggregate glass surface exposed.

2. The method of ornamenting a plastered wall surface which comprises coating the plastered surface with a plastic stone composition, and while the composition is plastic, successively stippling its exposed surface, coloring said surface in a predetermined manner and embedding narrow strips of glass in the treated surface in a predetermined geometrical design.

3. The method of ornamenting a wall surface which comprises applying thereto a layer of a plastic wall finishing composition, treating said composition so that the latter when set simulates in appearance a natural building rock, and forming a predetermined design respresenting assembled cut blocks of said rock by embedding narrow strips of a light reflecting material therein while said composition is plastic.

4. The method of ornamenting a wall surface which comprises coating said surface with a thin layer of a plastic wall finishing jcs composition, treating said plastic material to simulate in appearance travertine rock, and forming a predetermined geometrical design representing assembled blocks of said rock by embedding narrow strips of glass therein while said composition is in a plastic condition.

5. A wall ornamentation comprising an outer layer of plastic wall finishing material simulating in appearance a different building material, and a plurality of narrow strips of glass embedded in said material and arranged to form a predetermined geometrical design simulating assembled blocks of said different material.

6. A wall ornamentation comprising an outer layer of colored plastic wall finishing material, and a plurality of narrow strips of glass having a ground inner surface in intimate contact with and embedded in said material, said strips being arranged in a predetermined geometrical design with a substantial portion of their surface exposed.

7. A wall ornamentation comprising an outer layer of plastic wall finishing material treated to simulate travertine rock, and a plurality of narrow strips of glass embedded in said material and arranged in a design representing assembled blocks of said rock.

8. An article of wall ornamentation con-' sisting of a narrow strip of light reflecting material having an outer highly polished surface and an inner rough surface and adapted to be partly embedded in an initially plastic wall surface.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 19th day of May, A. D. 1930.

JOHN E. HAMM. 

